It’s a simple yet staggering fact: tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. That’s why our tobacco efforts never cease and are demanded now more than ever. Your support helps us reduce youth smoking, fight for tobacco-free policies, and help smokers quit.

Led the effort for multiple municipalities within the Upper Midwest to pass the Tobacco 21 law, raising the minimum tobacco purchasing age to 21, including: Chicago, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Kansas City (Kansas and Missouri), and Overland Park, Kansas.

Joined more than 200 cities across the country and two states that adopted the law.

Effective Advocacy: Fighting for common sense policies.

Chicago joined Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston when it passed an ordinance that eliminates tobacco use from Major League Baseball (MLB) parks as well as all other sports venues in the city where organized sports are played.

Missouri passed its 30th comprehensive smokefree indoor air law.

In Kansas, the Topeka City Council passed an ordinance adding e-cigarettes to the city-wide ban on cigarettes in public spaces, including workplaces, restaurants and bars.

The Des Moines Marathon, in Iowa, implemented a tobacco-free policy.

The largest school district in Des Moines passed a comprehensive nicotine-free policy.

In Indiana, the South Bend City Council passed a smokefree air law protecting all workers from secondhand smoke in workplaces.

Kansas passed a $.50 sales tax increase on cigarettes.

Supporting Quitters: Helping smokers make the decision to act.

The Illinois Tobacco Quitline persevered without a state budget, thus, without funding, yet continued to take calls and support those wanting to quit smoking. After several months of Lung Association advocacy, Quitline funding was restored at $3.1 million.

Hundreds of pregnant teenage smokers in Missouri were helped to quit smoking as part of the “Helping Pregnant Teenagers in Missouri Quit Smoking” project, made possible through a grant from The Anthem Foundation.

Hundreds of behavioral health professionals in Minnesota were educated about the growing disparity of tobacco use within the mental illness and substance abuse disorder population. Part of a three year grant from Prevention Minnesota, a program of Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota.

Freedom From Smoking facilitators in Kansas are now trained and equipped to help people with severe mental illness quit smoking. Part of a partnership with CVS Health and Valeo Behavioral Health Center in Kansas.

The Center for Tobacco Prevention and Policy Control provided funding to help initiate support for those with substance abuse disorders in North Dakota.

Almost 100 behavioral health and addiction professionals in Indiana were trained on mental health and tobacco treatment. Made possible by a grant from the Anthem Foundation.

ART THERAPY TO HELP QUIT SMOKING Named “Morning,” this art piece depicts coffee, pills, donuts, and tobacco. It’s part of an art gallery event that took place in Minnesota featuring artists with mental health and substance abuse disorders. The gallery incorporated tobacco into art presentations depicting the impact tobacco has on their lives. Art therapy is a strategy used to talk about tobacco and quitting.

It’s unacceptable that almost half of the nation’s population is exposed to unhealthy levels of air. The Lung Association of the Upper Midwest continues to take action so that homes are free of radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer; to reduce the effect that old wood boilers and stoves have on reducing pollution; and to expand the use of alternative fuels that are significantly better for the environment.

Almost 300 woodstoves and outdoor hydronic (wood boiler) heaters were replaced in Indiana and Illinois. The project was grant-funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Upper Midwest received $600,000 from Wisconsin Public Service for wood stove change out program in Wisconsin. Both the wood boilers and stove change-out efforts provide a measurable impact on reducing pollution.

Removed 130 tons of particulate matter and 671,000 tons of carbon dioxide with biodiesel, an alternative fuel produced from vegetable oils or animal fats that burns cleaner than petroleum diesel.

Educated several hundred thousand American and international farmers on the benefits of ethanol-based fuels for farming equipment.

Received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build E85 fueling stations in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. About 1,500 ethanol fueling stations will be added nationwide.

Received a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce and eliminate legacy vehicle diesel emissions throughout the Midwest and the U.S., complimenting four other clean diesel grants currently underway.

Awarded a $1 million cooperative agreement from U.S. Department of Energy to conduct electric vehicle demonstrations and education throughout the Midwest.

The Upper Midwest added 85 clean fuel sites in Illinois and Minnesota this year and received the Clean Fuels Champion Award in Wisconsin for E85 fuel promotion efforts.

Almost half-a-million Americans die every year because of lung disease. What are we doing about it? Targeting our efforts from the research lab to the grassroots. The Upper Midwest invested more than $3 million in life-saving research. We partnered with community clinics to help improve the quality of care for kids with asthma; and we’re visiting homes to assess and improve living environments of asthmatic children.

Supporting Patients, Caregivers & Professionals

12,000 patients and caregivers received education and resources helping them manage their disease and live longer, healthier lives.

Through the Environmental Improvements for Children’s Asthma program, funded in part by United Health Foundation, the Lung Association is invited into the homes of children with poorly controlled asthma to look for allergies and irritants and offer assistance.

As a result, the program reduces day and nighttime asthma symptoms, reduces limitations on children’s activities, improves school attendance, and reduces emergency department and hospitalizations due to asthma.

In short, hundreds of children in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and St. Louis are living healthier lives.

Partnering with Clinics: Improving Asthma Care

When clinics are up to date with the latest treatments, best practices and resources, children with asthma get the best asthma care.

Through the Enhancing Asthma Care Project, funded by Health Care Service Corporation, the Upper Midwest worked with almost 100 clinics in the last four years to improve asthma care.

14,000 Lung Association event participants across the Upper Midwest raised more than $5.4 million to help us save lives. How? By simply asking their friends, family and corporate partners to donate and support their stair climbing, running, walking, cycling, golfing, and (yes) even partying.

2,500 joined the force and raised $400,000 in LUNG FORCE Walks in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

More than 40 buildings and landmarks illuminated turquoise across the Upper Midwest as part of Turquoise Takeover in May during National Women’s Lung Health Week.

Hundreds attended four LUNG FORCE events engaging supporters and we earned more than one million media impressions across the region.

Meet One of Our LUNG FORCE Heroes – Susan Warmerdam

Four and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer that had gone undetected for 5-7 years. I never smoked, so hearing that I had an inoperable and incurable disease brought a plethora of emotions hard to describe.

Despite the hopeless medical statistics, I was determined to do everything to fight my disease. I did extensive research, took every step to embrace wellness, completely changed my diet, and got the best medical care possible. I received treatment at Northwestern, which included two years on a daily targeted cancer treatment drug, one clinical trial, and three surgeries. I believe all of these things worked together to help me beat the number one cancer killer… I’ve been off all treatment for 2 ½ years!

The American Lung Association has given me a platform from which to advocate and fundraise. Together with my friends, family and colleagues, we have raised almost $220,000 and funded three lung cancer research studies to help find the causes, early detection and more personalized treatments for lung cancer.

Linda Resar, MD (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore)Dr. Resar will address the urgent need for more effective lung cancer treatments by developing an innovative therapy called Spiegelmers. The therapy will disrupt the growth of lung cancer cells and improve therapy for lung cancer patients.

Eric Collisson, MD (University of California, San Francisco)Dr. Collisson will use new therapies that use mutant cancer genes against the tumor’s own growth to attack lung cancer. These new therapies are expected to increase the effectiveness of personalized treatments and provide a better understanding of how mutations in a specific gene affect the formation and progression of lung cancer. Efforts at personalizing treatments currently help only one in five patients.

E Alejandro Sweet-Cordero, MD (Stanford University, Stanford)Dr. Sweet-Cordero’s study may identify new approaches for lung cancer therapies by providing a better understanding of how tumor cells and normal cells communicate. The study will examine how that communication is activated in lung cancer as well as what changes occur in cells as a result of that activation.

Patrick Belvitch, MD (University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago)Dr. Belvitch is studying blood vessels in the lung that leak in a person with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. By understanding how specific proteins regulate the formation of gaps between cells that lead to the leakage, he hopes to develop treatments for this condition.

Tianji Chen, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago)Dr. Chen hopes to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In her study, she will examine how a specific protein is regulated as well as the role that protein plays in the development of PAH.

Joseph Reynolds, PhD (Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago)Dr. Reynolds is studying the roll of specific proteins called cytokines in severe influenza infection. He will investigate whether these cytokines promote improved immune responses to influenza which can lead to new treatments for inflammation-based respiratory disorders.

Andrew Haak, PhD (Mayo Clinic)Myofibroblasts cells are one of the core contributors to the cause of lung fibrosis disease. Dr. Haak will study how to activate specific cells that are known to block myofibroblasts in hopes of reducing their effect in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which remains a disease with limited therapeutic options.

Marc Sala, MD (Northwestern University-Chicago Campus)Dr. Sala will research the role of a specific group of proteins in the development of pulmonary hypertension. A better understanding of the role played by this group of proteins may result in new drug options for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Thank you again for your time, your energy and your generous support in 2016 that which powered our efforts to save lives.

As we look ahead, we see that there is still much work to do, more lives to save and people to impact. So we ask for your continued commitment, involvement and support of our work. Why? Because lung cancer is still the number one cancer killer in the country and 34 million people still suffer from lung disease.

We look to grow and expand our work on lung health and clean air by increasing our investment in research; enhancing our programs; advocating for more smokefree and clean air policies; and strengthening our partnerships and creating new ones.

We made great strides this year, but we have work ahead and your support is critical to strengthen the American Lung Association and ultimately, save more lives!

Call 1-800-LUNG-USA or visit Lung.org to stay informed, inspired and invested in our fight against lung disease and for lung health.